THE ABSENT

CRIPPLED HEARTS

SOLIDARITY WITH THE FLESH EATING MOSAIC AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju

Out Now

THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT NINNY AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju

My first book of poetry available through Amazon and other online booksellers www.rajbooks.com

Thursday, March 21, 2013

THE JOYS OF LISTENING TO FEAR'S THE RECORD

Fear’s
THE RECORD never ceases to put a smile on my face.Whenever I am in a foul mood, a foul mood
that is laced with anger rather than sadness or disappointment (which requires
a different listening experience), I put on THE RECORD and I soon feel better.

THE
RECORD is not an angry record in the way ENTERTAINMENT or the first Clash
record are.It’s a tongue and cheek
expression of frustration put to music that sounds like a ferocious animal in a
poorly constructed cage that’s going to fall apart at any minute unleashing the
beast (maybe on the last track Foreign Policy it does).

In
addition to the tight meticulous playing, not a note out of place at
breakneck speed, there is also quite clever social commentary.The line in Let’s Have a War “General Motors
gets fat like last time” might make you laugh but it’s also a great summation
of an ugly truth about capitalism and the Vietnam War.Foreign Policy is a primer on imperialism.Even the blatant dick joke song Beef Baloney
has a nod to the blues in the intro.

The
intro to Beef Baloney also shows one of Fear’s two strongest musical attributes
– the incredibly powerful voice of Lee Ving whose megaton delivery is remarkable
for how clear a singer he is.I can understand
every word he says.The other weapon is
drummer Spit Stix who is sort of a triple time anti-Keith Moon faster than Moon
but without his sloppiness and every hit of the cymbal precise.

The
last fifteen minutes of the documentary film THE DECLINE OF WESTERN
CIVILIZATION are one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen.Ving and company baiting a room full of uptight
Southern California skinheads.“We’re
from Frisco” Ving keeps saying mimicking a homosexual (I believe he's trolling here).Finally, he’s attacked by a few audience members
but easily pushes them aside.They then
play three airtight versions of songs from THE RECORD.The performance has just as much bite, just
as much violence, just as much power.